Lawmakers and staff of
the Lagos State House of
Assembly were left
bewildered at the way
students of the state
university (LASU), who are
still aggrieved over the 1,
272 percent hike in their
fees, vandalised
properties at the
Assembly complex today.
The students had come to
know the outcome of the
deliberation by the
lawmakers on the increase
in their fees but became
violent when they were
prevented by the House
security guards from
gaining entrance into the
chambers.
They immediately broke
down one of the major
entrances to the Assembly
complex while the security
officials who had
prevented them ran for
their dear lives.
Not satisfied, they
smashed the windscreen
of a Mercedes Benz 190
car belonging to the
cameraman of the state
television station (LTV),
who had come to cover
the sitting.
The students who had
come in several vehicles
including two buses of the
Bus Rapid Transit system
and commuter buses
popularly called danfo, also
destroyed flowers at the
Assembly premises.
They pasted anti-
government posters and
sang songs to press home
their grievances.
While they were
vandalising the properties,
the lawmakers were
within the chambers
drilling the state
Commissioner of Education,
Olayinka Oladunjoye, the
Special Adviser to
Governor Babatunde
Fashola on Education, Fatai
Olukoga and the university
management.
Most of the lawmakers
who spoke kicked against
the hike which they
described as astronomical
even though the state
government means well
for the institution.
Some of them also
criticised the
implementation of the
white paper by the state
government without
recourse to the
lawmakers as stipulated in
the law.
The sitting started with
the President of the
Student Union
Government, Durojaiye
Akeem Olalekan, explaining
that the announcement
had caused anger because
the government did not
take into consideration
the economic condition of
parents who toil to see
their children go to school.
He explained to the
lawmakers that the
majority of the 14,003
students of the institution
have parents who live
below the poverty line,
but ensure their kids are
educated.
He said at first, the
students were opposed to
the huge increase from
N25,000 to N193, 750 and
N348, 750 depending on
the course of study.
He said though the
increase would not affect
the present students as it
would begin with the
2011/2012 set, “in the
Students Union
Government, it is believed
that an injury to one is an
injury to all.”
The Acting Vice Chancellor
of the institution, Ibiyemi
Olatunji Bello, and Olukoga
tried hard to convince the
lawmakers, who were
obviously not in support
of the increment, on the
reasons why the
government took the
action.
According to the VC, the
management of the
university got the
instruction to implement
the white paper of the
visitation panel to the
institution to the letter;
one of this was the
increase in the fees.
She also said the fees
were meant to develop
the institution and build
more infrastructure.
Olukoga, who said his child
is in a private university,
said the only way to make
the institution comparable
to the privately run ones
is for the fees to be
hiked.
However, he was quickly
opposed by the lawmakers
who said they saw no
reason why the
government would
increase the fees in a
sector that is supposed to
be a social service to the
people.
The House then set up a
committee made of the
institution’s management,
representatives of the
students, the state
government, the Parents
Forum and lawmakers of
the Assembly to come up
with a position that could
be accepted by all the
stakeholders.
By Eromosele Ebhomele &
Tosin Areo

pmnewsnigeria.com/2011/10/27/tuition-hike-lasu-students-vandalise-property-at-lagos-assembly/

lag assembly and d executive are all playing politics.instead for them to deliberate on d fees to charge,instead d house set up useless ad-hoc committee . they are all bunch of hyprocrite